Annual profits treble at car sales website Autotrader in first set of results since roaring on to the stock market

Car sales website Autotrader has trebled annual profits in its first set of results since roaring onto the public markets in March.

The group said annual pre-tax profits hit £10.9million as more customers chose to check out cars online before buying them. Sales for the year screeched 8 per cent higher to £256million.

Chief executive Trevor Mather said: 'Growth has mainly come from providing greater value to retailers in a marketplace where consumers are increasingly researching their next vehicle purchase online.'

Garage sale: Around 80 per cent of UK car retailer forecourts advertise via the Autotrader website and now 65 per cent of UK used car transactions involve cars listed on it

The company used to be wholly owned by Guardian Media Group before the newspaper publisher offloaded a chunk in 2007. It sold its remaining 50.1 per cent stake to private equity group Apax partners last year.

It was thought that deal valued Autotrader at £1.8billion, and the Guardian received £600million in cash for its stake.